Bio

Mangione and Benton Jazz:

Mangione and Benton formed in 2017 to play as a guitar and piano/guitar duo featuring instrumental jazz standards from the great American songbook in the style of such jazz greats as Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Wynton Kelly, Herbie Hancock and others. Chris and Ryan love playing for audiences at all occasions providing entertainment at acoustic levels meant to inspire joy and relaxation, and are especially well received by dinner audiences, wineries and at special events. Mangione and Benton Jazz are also lucky to know a wide array of talented fellow musicians to sit in with the group or form, whenever necessary, a combo including horns, vocals, bass and drums by request.

Chris Mangione:

Chris has a BS degree in music education from the College of Saint Rose and an MS in education from Elmira college. He taught music in the NY state public schools specializing in concert, marching and jazz band pedagogy. Chris has been performing as a solo classical and jazz guitarist for nearly 3 decades. He has performed with some of the big names in jazz, including his cousin, the famous Chuck Mangione, plus the Mangione/Gordon duo, the Mangione and Benton Jazz duo, Bottle of Blues Blues band and the X-ray Big Band. Chris can perform classical and jazz standards as a solo guitarist and accompany vocalists and instrumentalists in each genre.

Ryan Benton:

Ryan Benton is a pianist, guitarist, bassist and vocalist originally from Richmond, Virginia. Ryan has a BA degree in music from James Madison University where he studied piano performance and music industry. Ryan has performed in jazz, blues and rock groups for close to three decades and is known currently for his Leesburg, Virginia based New Orleans inspired Blues and Funk band, The Voodoo Blues. Ryan also regularly plays with the jazz combo, Frederick Jazz in Frederick, Maryland. Ryan particularly loves and excels at music featuring improvisation such as jazz, blues, soul and r&b.